Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that the European Union’s Article 7 procedure against Poland is “unlawful”.

The prime minister assured Poland of Hungary’s support during an interview broadcast on Polish public television TVP on Wednesday night.

Poland has suffered unfair treatment and Hungary’s support of Poland is “in the interest of central Europe,” PM Orbán said.

He suggested that the dispute between the EU and Poland was triggered by central Europe’s recently increased weight in the bloc.

Central Europe wants “a say in EU decisions according to how much they contribute to the economic growth of Europe,” the prime minister said.

He attributed the dispute to the EU’s center shifting eastward, and cooperation between Germany and the Visegrád group (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) getting at least as important to Europe as the cooperation between Germany and France. The prime minister said the West must get used to the new situation.

PM Orbán stressed that to avoid disputes in the EU, there is the need for continuous talks, even if there is but a slight hope for compromise.

“True, the 28 member states do not see the world in the same way. While some of them, mainly western countries, would like to enter a post-Christian or post-national era, we stick to our roots and take a different approach to migration,” PM Orbán said.

“We do not want to convince the West but they should also allow us to remain Christians, Polish and Hungarian,” he added.